Pile wires for looms



June 4, 1963 w. Y. ROBE 3,092,149

PILE WIRES FOR Loon/ls Filed May 4, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY June 4, 1963 w. Y. ROBB 3,092,149

PILE WIRES FOR LOOMS Filed May 4, 1962 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. I2 FIG. IO

lNVENTOR WALTER Y ROBB Qwm 14W@ ATTORNEY United States 3,0%49 Patented .lune 4, 1963 3,092,149 PILE WIRES FOR LOOMS Walter Y. Robb, Whitinsville, Mass., assigner to Crompton & Knowles Corporation, Worcester, Mass., a corporation of Massachusetts Filed May 4, 1962, Ser. No. 192,578 3 Claims. (Cl. 139-46) This invention in general relates to pile wire looms operating with longitudinal pile wires utilized to produce fabrics with pile loops and/or pile tufts, and it is the general object of the invention to provide a pile Wire with a removable pile former to facilitate convenient and rapid removal of the pile former for ready replacement thereof to effect a change in the face of one fabric from that of another.

The type of looms referred to above has already gone into extensive commercial use, but these looms employ unitary pile wires each of which has a pile former integral therewith and having a depending rear end extending below the usual shed forming warp threads so as to be stationarily mounted on pile wire supporting means, also below the Warp threads and rearwardly of the usual reciprocating lay. When such a unitary pile wire requires removal and replacement because of wear or other damage, which in most instances occurs to the pile forming part, or because it is desired to Weave a pile fabric different than that being woven, the complete pile wire must be removed and then replaced by another complete pile wire. Replacement of unitary pile Wires has the disadvantage of being expensive since the complete pile wire must be discarded. Another disadvantage, which is most annoying and aggrava-ting as well as expensive, is the unwanted down time of the loom when a pile wire is to be replaced either because of the aforementioned damage or replacement to change the pile pattern. As is well known, there are a great mmy pile wires extending across the loom spaced from but close to each other such that, because of their location with respect to the shed and the lay and the manner in which the depending ends are mounted, accessibility thereto and removal and replacement thereof without disturbing adjacent pile wires is most difficult and bothersome.

I-t is therefore a prime object of the invention to eliminate or at least greatly reduce the disadvantages discussed above by making a two-piece pile wire including a main body member forming one piece of the two-piece pile wire and a pile former forming the other piece attached stationarily with respect to but readily removable from said member if so desired or needed without disturbing or removing the main body member.

It is another object of the invention to provide locking means to hold the two pieces removably together to prevent any relative movement therebetween, the locking means including coacting counterparts on the body member and the pile former capable of effecting a locking relationship such as to permit easy unlocking to replace the pile former.

Another object of the invention is to provide the body member with a pair of transversely spaced forwardly extending longitudinal arms to define a slot therebetween to receive therein the rear portion or shank of a pile former in locking relationship with said arms, the for- Ward portion of the pile former extending forwardly beyond said arms for operative connection to the fabric being woven.

Still another object of the invention is to provide pile formers of varing heights with or without loop cutting blades #capable of being utilized with a pile body member common to said pilev formers to produce fab- 2 rics having an embossed yor plain effect with or without cut pile loop according to pattern requirements.

And yet another object of the invention is to provide the body member and the pile former respectively with forward outside parallel sides and forward parallel surfaces so correlated as to correspond and be co-extensive to each other upon assembly to insure the same thickness of the pile wire from the point where the loops are formed to its extreme forward end.

A further object of the invention is to provide the slot defined by said forwardly extending arms with bridging elements for locking coaction with complementary means on said pile formers.

A still further object of the invention is to make a pile former with a forward and rear portion, said rear portion being thinner than the forward portion and extending into said slot for locking relationship to said `alrrns and said forward portion -being provided with vertically transverse shoulders for abutment with the extreme forward edges of said arms.

And yet a still further object of the invention is to make a pile former with longitudinal extending shoulders for engagement with the top surfaces of the arms.

With these and other objects in view which will appear as the description proceeds, the invention resides in the combination and arrangement of parts in the accompanying Idrawings which illustrate the embodiments of the invention and in which FIG. 1 is a fragmentary side elevation of a pile fabric loom having the preferred 4form of the invention applied thereto, certain lof the parts being in section and certain of the parts being broken away,

FIG. 2 is an enlarged elevational partial view of the two-part pile Wire, certain of the parts being broken away .and in section for clarity, and schematically showing a loop forming operation.

FIG. 3 is a plan view looking in the direction of arrow 3, FIG. 2,

FIGS. 4 and 5 are enlarged cross sections taken respectively on lines 4-4 and 5 5 of FIG. 3,

FIG. 6 is an operational view illustrating in what manner a pile for-mer lcan be removed from vthe pile wire,

FIGS. 7 and 8 illustrate modified forms of pile formers usable with the body member of the pile wire in the preferred form of the invention,

FIG. 9 is an enlarged vertical section taken on line 9-9 of FIG. 8,

FIG. 10 is an enlarged partial plan view of the forward end tof the pile wire of the preferred form of the invention, minus a pile former,

FIG. 11 is an enlarged fragmentary bottom view looking in the direction of arrow 11, FIG. 2, with certain parts removed,

FIG. 12 is an elevational view of the pile former shown in FIG. 8,

FIG. 13 is an enlarged plan view looking in the direction :of arrow '13, FIG. 12,

FIGS. 14 and l5 are fragmentary elevations of further modiiications of the invention, and

FIGS. 16-20 inclusive are fragmentary views illustrating, by way of example, various fabrics which can be produced according to the present invention.

Referring now particularly to FIG. 1, a pair of loomside frames 1 and 2 suitably journal therebetween a reciprocating shaft 3 which mounts a reed supporting lay 4 holding a series of reed dents S in transverse spaced relationship across the width of the loom. As is usual during loom operation, the idents will be reciprocated forwardly and backwardly between the full and dotted line positions to effect beat-up of the fillingv thread `6 intro the fell of the pile fabric `generally designated respectively by the reference numerals 7 and `8.

The fabric `8 is advanced forwardly over a cloth board 9 by a fabric takeup mechanism, not shown but well known in the art. Extending rearwardly from the well 7, upper and lower sheets of warp threads, represented by lines 12 and 13 respectively, `form the ground wea've of the fabric and are periodically raised and lowered by the usual harness frames 14 and 15 respectively to provide new sheds, one of which is shown at 16, for the insertion of the filling thread 6 to be incorporated into the ground weave.

As shown in FIG. 1, a pile yarn comb generally designated by numeral 17 has depending therefrom a set of teeth 18 which extend across the loom and between each of which a pile forming yarn 19 is raised by a harness frame 22 in usual fashion after which the comb is moved transversely to shift the pile yarns to one or another of the sides of the pile wires, yet to be described, whereupon the pile yarns are lowered to form pile loops one of which is shown in FIG. 2 for example as at 23. The loops then are progressively moved forwardly by the reed to be incorporated into the fabric.

Still referring to FIG. l, a pile wire support located rearwardly of lay 4 below shed 16 and generally designated as at 24 extends across the loom and is attached to the lioomside frames 1 and 2 by bolts 25, only those being shown with reference to frame 1. A pair of pile wire clamping bars 26 and 27 fixed to support 24 in any approved manner acts to firmly clamp and hold the pile wires in vertical disposition across the loom stationarily with respect thereto.

The matter thus far described is of well known construction and operation and forms no part of the present invention except insofar as it relates to the pile wires.

In carrying the present invention into effect and with reference to FIGS. 1-6 inclusive, a two-piece longitudinal pile wire generally designated by 28 is provided with a depending rear end 29 for stationary attachment to the aforedescribed support 24. End 29 may also be considered as a downwardly extending leg. The pile wire includes an upwardly extending flat body member 32 integral with rear end 29 and an 'opposite forward free end generally designated by 33 for operative connection to the fabric 8. Member 32 may be considered as one piece of the two-piece pile wire 28.

`End 33 extends forwardly from member 32 and is formed with a pair of longitudinal transversely spaced arms 34 and 35 to define therebetween a vertically disposed longitudinal slot 36 therebetween, see particularly FIGS. 3 and 4. As can readily be seen in FIGS. 3, 6 and 10, slot 36 is open-ended on three sides as defined by top edges 37 and 38, opposite bottom edges 39 and 40, and extreme forward edges 43 and 44 all respectively of arms 34 and 35. Slot 36 extends rearwardly into end 33 in a manner so as to be closed at its upper end as at 45 to partially close slot 36. Slot 36 is open-ended on three sides throughout the greater part of its length, the remaining length of the slot being closed at its upper end so that slot 36 for said remaining length is of inverted U-shaped configuration.

Arms 34 and 35 are provided with forward and rear slot bridging elements 46 and 47 respectively, element 46 being in the form of a stud and element 47 in the form of a projecting tongue integral with and extending downwardly from closure 45 with respect to end 33 into and adjacent the one end of slot 36 while forward element 46 is anchored to arms 34 and 35 at the other end of the slot adjacent edges 43 and 44. Stud 46 and projecting tongue 47 act as locking means in cooperation with their counterparts on a pile former to lock the latter to said body member and generally indicated by reference numeral 48 to be more fully described hereinafter. Member 32 forms one piece of the two-piece pile wire and pile former 4S forms the other piece. Bridging elements `46 and 47 engage the pile former in a manner to retain the latter removably attached to the body member 32. It is to be understood that the locking means 46 and 47 need not be as specifically described in that they may be altered and relocated with respect to the arms 34 and 35 without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention as would also be true of the U-shaped part of the slot and edges 37-40 inclusive and edges 43 and 44.

Referring once again to FIGURES 1-6 inclusive, pile former 48, considered as the other piece of the two-piece pile wire, is provided with a forward snub-nose 49 adjacent to which a loop cutting blade 52 is aixed in well known manner to cut the loops to form cut loops or tufts as oftentimes called. Pile former 48 has a forward thickened portion 53, usually operatively connected to the fabric being woven, from which a rear portion or shank 54 thinner than portion 53 extends rearwardly into slot 36 between arms 34 and 35 for locking relationship stationarily with respect thereto via stud 46 and projection 47. Portion 53 extends forwardly from said slot and portion 54 extends into the slot. Portion 53 and shank 54 provides a pair of vertically transverse shoulders 55 and 56, see particularly FIG. 11, for abutting engagement with edges 43 and 44 respectively. Shank 54 is provided with a pair of notches one of which is a downwardly open notch 57 and the other an upwardly open notch 58 formed by lugs 59 and 6i), the notches 57 and 58 being the counterpart means respectively for stud 46 and projecting tongue 47 to complete the locking means to hold the pile former stationary with respect to the member 32 and removably attached thereto to permit ready removal and replacement of pile formers to effect a change in the face of a fabric.

'From an inspection of FIGS. 3 and l0, it will be noted that member 32 has forward outside parallel sides 63 and 64 which correspond to and coincide respectively with forward outside parallel surfaces 65 and 66 of portion 53 so as to maintain the thickness of the twopart pile wire the same at the points where the loops are formed and along the path lof travel thereof during progressive forward movement of the loops by the reed as described hereinbefore.

As will be noted in FIG. 6, the height H of the greater length of portion 53 and shank 54 is the same as the height h of arms 34 and 35 to form loops of the same height, but the invention is not limited to this particular height since it is obvious that, by reason of the vertical elongation of slot 36 as at 67, height H of different pile formers may be varied as described to produce pile loops of varying heights without necessarily changing the height lz.

In all forms of the invention, member 32 is substantially the same except as noted -hereinafter with regard to the modified forms of the invention described below.

In the modified form of the invention shown in FIG. 7, member 32, its end 33 and its arms 34 and 35 and the locking means thereof are utilized with a pile former 72 having a rounded nose 73 which may or may not have a cutting blade adjacent thereto as indicated by broken lines 74 depending upon whether the loops are to be cut or produce tufts. Pile former 72 has a top surface 75 coextensive with top edges 37 and 38 and extending from nose 73 in a manner such that the pile former 72 throughout the entire pile forming length is of a height equal to height lt mentioned hereinbefore. Except for the matter just described, the remaining structure of pile former 72 is identical to pile former 48 and therefore it is deemed unnecessary to further elaborate on the structure of pile former 72 with reference to a thickened portion, a shank and the locking means with reference to end 33. From an inspection of FIG. 7, it will be seen that the pile loops formed will be of the same height and will be readily incorporated with the pile fabric because of rounded nose 73 as opposed to snub nose 49 when a loop cutter is not employed. In the event that the pile loops are to be cut to produce tufts, blade 74 can be attached to pile former 72 in any approved manner.

FIGS. 8, 9- and 12 illustrate another form of the invention which also utilizes member 32 and its end 33 as in the preferred form ofthe invention. As described hereinbefore, end 33 is provided with slot 36 and vertical elongation thereof 4as at 67 to receive fully therein the shank 76 of a pile former generally designated as at 77. Pile former 77 has a rounded nose 78 similar to nose 73 and is provided with a thickened portion 79 similar 10 to thickened portion 53 in the preferred fo-rm of the invention, thickened portion 79 extending rearwardly as at 80 to overlap arm 34 and 35 with elongated shoulders 82 and 83 respectively which engage surfaces 3,7 and 38 of arms 34 and 35. 'Shank 76 is provided with a down- 15 43 and 44 similarly as in the preferred form of the in- 20 vention and the modified form of FIG. 7. Notch 85 is defined by a pair of lugs 87 and 88 similar in many respects to lugs 59 and 60l of the preferred form of the invention. It will be noted that height HA is the same as that of vertical elongation 67 so that the height of the pile 25 loops formed by pile for-mer 77 will be somewhat higher than those loops formed by pile fonmers 48 and 72. It is to be understood, of course, that various heights of pile wires may be formed to cover the range between heights H and HA. Also pile former 77 may carry, if 30 desired, a pile loop cutting blade indicated by reference numeral 89 by dot and dash lines as shown clearly in FIG. 8. In both forms of the invention shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 the usage of a cutter blade is optional and is merely illustrated to indicate that the loops formed can 35 be cut to produce tufts of varying heights in a range between those heights of loops formed by FIG. 7 and those formed by FIG. 8.

FIG. 14 shows another form of the invention in which a 2-piece pile wire generally indicatedvby the number 9i) 40 has a forward end 91 having a pair of arms 93, only one of which is shown, similar to arms 34 and 35 of the prefered form of the invention. A slot 94 similar to slot 36 and open-ended on three sides is formed by the arms 93 and has a closure 95 to form a U-shaped slot of inverted 45 configuration at the rear end of slot 94. End 91 is formed with a locking tongue 96 extending into a complementary notch 97 in a shank 98 extending rearwardly from thickened portion 99 of a pile former generally indicated at 10i). Pile former 100 is provided with a rear- 50 wardly extending thickened portion 101 to straddle arms 93 in a manner similar to thickened portion 8l)y of FIG. 8. Portion 1011 has a pair of elongated shoulders 102, only one of which is shown, and similar to shoulders S2 and 83. An undercut surface 103 as shown in FIG. 14, 55

extends into slot 94 and is below a top surface 104 which extends forwardly to an arcuately sloping nose 10S. Arms 93 are provided with a stud 106 similar to stud 46 for cooperation with a notch 107 in shank 9S. As in all forms of the invention, the height HB, FIG. 14, may be 60 varied to form loops of different heights.

FIG. 15 shows another form of the invention quite similar to tha-t shown in FIG. 14 with the exception that a locking tongue 1105 is on a shank 111 for coaction with a complementary notch 112 in end 113 of a pile wire 65 generally designated at 114. End 113 has a closure 115 similar to closure 95 and an undercut surface 116 not unlike undercut surface 10=3 of FIG. 14. Shank 114 has a thickened part 117 which extends forwardly thereof and above a pair of arms 118 (only one shown) similar 70 to arms 93 and arms 34 and 3-5. A stud 120l coacts with a notch 121 to complete the locking means with tongue and notch 112. Thickened portion 117 extends rearwardly as at 122 to straddle arms 118 similarly as thickened portion 80 straddles arms 34 and 35- relative to FIG. 75

9. Top surface 123 of thickened portion 122 extends forwardly and converges substantially downwardly as at 124 to form a somewhat triangular nose 125. As in all forms of the invention, the height HC, FIG. 15, may be varied in order to form different height loops and may also be provided with a loop cutting blade if so desired, which would also be true of FIG. 14. When a blade is used with pile formers in any form of the invention, the pile former may be considered as tuft forming means.

FIG. 16 shows a fragmentary view of a tufted pile fabric generally indicated at FA. which could be made by using pile formers of any form o-f the invention of the same height with blades to cut the loops into tufts T formed by the pile fonmers. This type of fabric may be considered as a plain tufted fabric, i.e., having tufts of the same height.

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary view of part of another pile fabric FB in which -the loops L are uncut and may be produced with any of the modified types of pile formers when the loop cutting blades are omitted from the pile formers; and, as can be seen, this fab-ric would be indicative of a plain, uncut loop pile fabric.

FIG. 18 shows a fabric FC having cut and uncut loo-ps of varying heights to produce an embosed effect capable of being produced by utilizing the vario-us types of pile formers set fort herein.

FIG. 19 further illustrates a type of fabric FD having an embossed effect in which all the loops are cut to form various heights of tufts, this type of fabric, of course, requiring that the type of pile former disclosed herein be provided with a pile cutting blade.

-FIG. 20 illustrates a fabric FE having an embossed effect formed by various heights of uncut loops which would be formed by the type of pile formers shown in the modified forms of the invention minus the loop cutters.

Referring to FIG. 6, in the event a pile former is damaged or wears, or is to be replaced in order to change the face of the fabric, removal of a pile former is a very simple matter. By turning the pile former in the direction of arrows A and B and then moving it along in the direction of arrow C, removal of the pile former is readily accomplished. Thereafter a new pile former may be substituted by inserting it generally reversely in the direction of the arrows just discussed. This general procedure of removal and replacement would also be true in all forms of the invention. Hence, there will be no need to disturb or detach a complete pile wire when replacement of a pile former is needed or desired.

From the foregoing it will be seen that the invention provides a simple Z-piece pile wire with which a pile former removably attached thereto can be readily removed and different pile formers substituted therefor in the event of damage or wear thereto or replacement because of the requirements in a change in the pattern of the pile fabric. Also, it will be seen that simple locking means have been provided in all forms of the invention such that removal and substitution of a pile former is accomplished quite easily with the minimum amount of loom down time. Further it will be seen that various combinations of pile formers may be utilized to vary the heights of the loops or the tufts in order to change the face of the fabric to form plain fabrics and/ or embossed fabrics with or without cut loops. Aliso it will be seenV that the pile formers are made in such a manner so as not to exceed the thickness o-f the forward ends of the flat body members so that the same number of removable pile formers per inch may be utilized as that previously employed when weaving with a unitary pile wire.

Having now particularly described and ascertained the nature of the invention and in what manner the same is to be performed, what is claimed is:

1. In a two-piece pile wire for a loom operating to produce a pile fabric having cut and/ or uncut pile loops,

(a) a liat body member comprising one piece o-f said 7 pile wire and having a pair of longitudinal arms eX- tending from said 'member forwardly to define a vertically disposed longitudinal slot open-ended on three sides throughout the greater part of its length and bounded respectively by top, bottom and forward edges of said arms,

(b) a pile former comprising another piece of said pile wire and having a shank provided with longitudinal and vertically transverse shoulders to respectively abut said top and forward edges to position said pile former stationarily with respect to said arms, and

(c) locking means on said arms and pile former coacting to maintain the pile former stationarily anchored to said arms in a manner to permit ready removal and replacement of the pile former if needed or desired,

(d) said slot being provided with a closure at one end thereof to form a U-shaped slot in which part of the llocking means is located.

2. The pile wire set forth in claim 1 wherein (a) said slot as defined by said edges and said closure is capable of receiving, one at a time, pile formers having Shanks of varying heights.

3. In a pile wire for a loom capable of weaving fabrics having an embossed effect as well as a plain etect with and without cut piles,

(a) a relatively thin, at body member including a rear depending end thereof fixed Stationarily with respect to the loom and an opposite forward end provided with a longitudinal slot, and

(b) a pile former forming part of said pile wire and having a rear portion extending into said slot and a forward portion operatively connected to the fabric being Woven, the pile former being provided with or without a loop cutting blade as desired,

(c) said pile former and said body member forming a two-piece pile wire in which the pile former is stationary with respect to the body and removably attached thereto,

(d) said opposite end having a pair of longitudinal arms extending from said body to dene said slot, said slot being vertically disposed between the arms and open-ended on three sides throughout the greater part of its length, the remaining length of the slot `being closed at its upper end to for-m a slot of inverted U-shaped configuration extending said remaining length, and

(e) said slot being so formed as to be able to receive individual pile formers of different heights.

Robb Jan. 13, 1959 Sparling Feb. 14, 1961 

3. IN A PILE WIRE FOR A LOOM CAPABLE OF WEAVING FABRICS HAVING AN EMBOSSED EFFECT AS WELL AS A PLAIN EFFECT WITH AND WITHOUT CUT PILES, (A) A RELATIVELY THIN, FLAT BODY MEMBER INCLUDING A REAR DEPENDING END THEREOF FIXED STATIONARILY WITH RESPECT TO THE LOOM AND AN OPPOSITE FORWARD END PROVIDED WITH A LONGITUDINAL SLOT, AND (B) A PILE FORMER FORMING PART OF SAID PILE WIRE AND HAVING A REAR PORTION EXTENDING INTO SAID SLOT AND A FORWARD PORTION OPERATIVELY CONNECTED TO THE FABRIC BEING WOVEN, THE PILE FORMER BEING PROVIDED WITH OR WITHOUT A LOOP CUTTING BLADE AS DESIRED, (C) SAID PILE FORMER AND SAID BODY MEMBER FORMING A TWO-PIECE PILE WIRE IN WHICH THE PILE FORMER IS STATIONARY WITH RESPECT TO THE BODY AND REMOVABLY ATTACHED THERETO, (D) SAID OPPOSITE END HAVING A PAIR OF LONGITUDINAL ARMS EXTENDING FROM SAID BODY TO DEFINE SAID SLOT, SAID SLOT BEING VERTICALLY DISPOSED BETWEEN THE ARMS AND OPEN-ENDED ON THREE SIDES THROUGHOUT THE GREATER PART OF ITS LENGTH, THE REMAINING LENGTH OF THE SLOT BEING CLOSED AT ITS UPPER END TO FORM A SLOT OF INVERTED U-SHAPED CONFIGURATION EXTENDING SAID REMAINING LENGTH, AND (E) SAID SLOT BEING SO FORMED AS TO BE ABLE TO RECEIVE INDIVIDUAL PILE FORMERS OF DIFFERENT HEIGHTS. 